LAWSUITS, LOSS OF FEDERAL FUNDING THREATENED FOR SCHOOLS THAT DO NOT COMPLY …

The administration of U.S. president Barack Obama is ordering all government-run schools in the country allow transgender students to use the bathroom of their choice so as to foster “a supportive and nondiscriminatory school environment.”

Should they refuse the schools could face lawsuits – and the loss of federal funding.

Not only that, the administration says its “guidance” applies to locker rooms and any other “sex-segregated facilities” on government-run campuses.

There’s more …

Teachers and school officials are now required to address transgender students by their chosen names (and pronouns) – once they have been notified by a parent or guardian that the students’ gender identity “differs from previous representations or records.”

“There is no room in our schools for discrimination of any kind, including discrimination against transgender students on the basis of their sex,” Obama’s attorney general, Loretta Lynch, said in a statement. “This guidance gives administrators, teachers and parents the tools they need to protect transgender students from peer harassment and to identify and address unjust school policies.”

Obama’s secretary of education, John King, applauded the order.

“No student should ever have to go through the experience of feeling unwelcome at school or on a college campus,” King said. “We must ensure that our young people know that whoever they are or wherever they come from, they have the opportunity to get a great education in an environment free from discrimination, harassment and violence.”

The federal foray marks the latest chapter of the ongoing national “bathroom debate,” which depending on your perspective is either the next great civil rights struggle or an open invitation for predators to molest young children.

We see the merits of both perspectives … viewing this issue as yet another example of dueling liberties.

Where to draw the line? We’re not sure yet … but we do believe this order (errr, “guidance”) represents yet another example of the perils associated with government-run education (for individuals on both sides of the debate).

And while we would never embrace bigotry (or discriminatory harassment or violence), on a practical level it’s hard not to view this situation as a likely catalyst for the parental choice movement … which this website has steadfastly supported.

Religion, race, gender, gender identity or sexual orientation aside … parents and children ought to have more choices in the education marketplace. If the backlash over this decision facilitates that, good.